Commentaire sur Job 8:1

The Shuite debater chooses a different approach, one he claims to have received as a tradition from his forefathers (Ch.8:8).

Like Eliphaz, he too believes in Providence and freedom of choice, and like him he presents a stubborn shoulder (Zechariah 9:29) to the opinion of the astrologers. But since, in his reply to Eliphaz, Job had made no mention of these speculative matters, Bildad too ignores them and presents just a single reasoned argument against those who deny Providence, when he asks: Would God pervert judgment? Or would the Almighty pervert justice? (Job 8:3). What he meant by this is as follows: One of the necessary attributes of the Deity is that no perfection should be wanting in Him nor any shortcoming present in Him. Now, it would certainly be a shortcoming were any injustice or perversion of judgment (Habakkuk 1:4) to emanate from Him, and so such wrongs could not originate in Him.